ds The Arrow April 2016 Voulme 44 Issue 4 Poets advance to semi-finals in Louder Than a Bomb

Luqman Muhammad, JaWan Emmons, Mo Konneh, and Tyrique Carney perform at LTAB. Luqman Muhammad performs solo.

By Danielle Weaver “Judges think it’s a great poem but The process of creating the and JaWan Emmons are afraid that it is potentially too edgy,” Mu- piece itself was organic and different hammad said. “I believe that it is the edg- from usual techniques of other teams. iness that gives my poem an advantage.” “We threw around different themes Thornwood’s poetry team, the Muhammad writes about relatable topics around the team including growing up and is- self-proclaimed “Pivotal Poets,” placed 4th like homophobia and his hatred for math, and he sues with teens; then, everyone added bars, put in semi-finals of Louder Than a Bomb. infuses lots of comedy within his poems and makes it on Google docs, lots of editing, lots of re- Out of all the poets on the team, se- them easier to understand. He also pushes the flection and revision with coaches, along with nior Luqman Muhammad advanced to in- boundaries on what is and is not safe to talk about. blocking the piece, and the relationship between dividual finals for the second year in a row. The team was coached by Patti Bruc- the team added fuel to the piece,” Brucki said. “It is always an honor to perform on a ki, a Thornwood librarian who also specializ- Louder Than a Bomb is a month long po- LTAB stage. Last year, I wanted to prove to myself es in poetry and literature. Along her side were etry festival. It is the largest youth poetry festival and others that I was a good writer,” Muhammad co-coaches Gina Collier and Terrell McKinney. in the world with 1200 participants. The festival said. “This year, I wanted to go and have fun.” Through hard work and practice every features over 120 schools, including Jones Col- Out of 1200 performers, Muham- day, Brucki took pride in all the accomplish- lege Prep, New Trier, Holy Trinity, and schools mad placed in the top 12. By doing this, ments she and the team gained this season. all around the Chicagoland area. There are two he secured a spot in individual finals. “We took 1st in the first and second rounds, preliminary bouts, quarter finals, semi-finals, “It feels good to know that others enjoy and 2nd in the third and fourth rounds,” Brucki said. and team finals. There are also individual rounds. my writing as much as I do,” Muhammad said. The judges said because of how Thornwood Louder Than a Bomb poets He performed a poem that has many unique and different their group piece was, are JaWan Emmons, Tyrique Carney, Mo Konneh, names, one being “Please Don’t Judge Me.” It is the team’s piece was one of the most cel- Luqman Muhammad (captain), Ayo Taiwo, Rou- a poem that tells one story two different ways. ebrated out of the whole competition. lette Heitmann, Charity Cole, and Luis Sepulveda. 2 VIEWPOINTS

Thornwood High School 17101 South Park Avenue Editorial South Holland, IL 60473 Editors-in-Chief

Apple should not Raynell Bruton Jorge Correa create software Jeshua Glover

for FBI Staff A man and his wife, who are con- to potential hackers. This will allow ac- JaWan Emmons sidered terrorists, killed 14 people, forcing cess to a person’s or even a government Drew Evans their way into a holiday office party in San agency’s data. It would put everyone at Keith Leftridge Bernardino, California. The couple was shot risk, including the FBI at getting hacked. Luqman Muhammad and killed in a police shootout. The FBI is Next, if Apple lets the FBI in on their Allen Price seeking access to data stored on an encrypt- software, it could put people’s safety at risk. ed iPhone that belongs to a man by the name It will weaken the security of the internet, Giovanna Robinson of Syed Farook, who participated in the kill- and everyone’s private information won’t Katlyn Rogers ings. The FBI is looking for Apple to help it be so private. Locations could be traced, Crystal Stanton with retrieving the data. However, Apple and photos could be looked through. Destinee Tillman refuses to build a backdoor into its prod- Criminals will find it a lot easier to break Danielle Weaver ucts for the FBI because it could create more the laws. Yes, the FBI is trying to catch the Jazmyn Webb problems than it could resolve. Accordingly, criminal minds behind the killings, but it Apple should not create the backdoor to let would eventually create more criminals. Jamie Williams the federal government in on its products. Also, the FBI could be having the Jaylin Williams FBI supporters believe that creating backdoor created for no reason. No one Jasmine Wright the backdoor could only further help Amer- knows if there is actually anything on Fa- ica. They say that if the FBI gets through rook’s iPhone. Suppose that Farook deleted Apple’s backdoor, it could look through Fa- some things or maybe that wasn’t the phone Principal rook’s iPhone. The FBI would be able to see he communicated with about the attack. things such as photos, messages, and phone The backdoor would then be created, and Dennis Willis calls. The FBI would then hope to link Fa- nothing positive would be gained from it. rook to other terrorists to catch other bad Apple should not create a backdoor Advisor guys, but attempting to have this done for the FBI to let it in their software. There Mrs. Marlene Matthias will be more of a burden in the long run. are too many risks that would be taken over First, constructing a backdoor spe- one iPhone. The FBI should find another The Arrow is produced by Thornwood students. cifically for the FBI could put these back- way to link Farook to other possible ter- doors into everyone else’s phones, comput- rorist without putting America in danger. Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent ers, and tablets. In doing so, it could lead those of the administration, faculty, or advisor.

Photo Opinions If you could change one

Debora Foster Kayla Bell thing Elijah Hunt Faith Ware Junior Junior at TW, Sophomore Sophomore

“I would change the “No pass rule when things what “Give more money to the “We need a better sports amount of time we have go wrong because it causes band program. We are program and updated to get to class to 6 min- more problems for students would bro ke .” school. They need to get utes because there just personally.” it be? a grant or something.” aren’t enough minutes in a passing period to get Why? everything done.” PHOTOS 3 4 FEATURES Student Board

Comfort Abuwa Deja Barnes Abraham Cruz Junior Sophomore Freshman

Why are you running for student school Why are you running for student school Why are you running for student school board? board? board? “Students’ opinions often go unheard, “I am running for student board because “I am running for student board so that and I want to change that. Student Board this is an opportunity for me to gain I can improve the school lunches and puts me in position where I can actually leadership skills and improve my public disciplinary actions.” give power to the students by voicing speaking and confidence level.” their concerns to those who may not take If you could make one change at Thorn- the students seriously. I also like being If you could make one change at Thorn- wood, what would you change? Why? involved in my community.” wood, what would you change? Why? “I would change the disciplinary actions If you could make one change at Thorn- “I would change the way security is set that our school has. I would change the wood, what would you change? Why? up because some of the time the security disciplinary actions because students guards don’t check bags correctly, and are missing out on a lot of class time for “If I could change one thing at Thorn- kids are still able to get in with inappro- being sent to in-school because of the wood, it would be the number of deten- priate objects.” tardies that they receive. I will change it tions and suspensions administered for by turning in-school into extended de- minor offenses.” Which activities and/or sports have you tention.” participated in at Thornwood? Which activities and/or sports have you Which activities and/or sports have you participated in at Thornwood? Fashion show participated in at Thornwood? Track and Field Student Council Which activities have you participated in Upward Bound Cross Country outside of school? Student Council Soccer team National Honor Society “An activity that I did was being a care- Which activities have you participated in Mathletics taker for a disabled woman.” Spanish Club outside of school? Student Excellence Committee “I have participated in community ser- Which activities have you participated in vice activities such as food drives for the outside of school? needy and clothes donations for the poor. I also have my own soccer club which I “I volunteered at Sand Ridge Nature play with.” Center.” FEATURES 5 Candidates

Simbiat Eji-lasisi Jada Holcomb Nayeli Munoz Junior Sophomore Freshman Why are you running for student Why are you running for student board? Why are you running for student board? board? “I am running for student board because I “I dislike being in positions where want to use this as a good referral for col- “I am running for student board be- I feel like my voice doesn’t matter. I lege. I am also a great leader and can make a cause I would like to continue improv- know that other students feel this way, change.” ing and bettering District 205 and our and I want them to have someone who communities.” can speak up or know they have a voice If you could make one change at Thornwood, out there.” what would you change? Why? If you could make one change at Thornwood, what would you change? If you could make one change at “I hope to change the students’ behavior, Why? Thornwood, what would you change? change the school’s cleanliness, and change Why? lives by giving back to my community.” “I would change the passing periods. Try increasing the time because it’s “I would change the environment. I Which activities and/or sports have you par- a large school, and it’s very easy to think people in my school have be- ticipated in at Thornwood? get caught up. I would also try to get come so negative, and they have less countdown clocks, so we would know school spirit, and it needs to change.” Ethnic choir exactly how much time we have left. Hopefully then, we can reduce tardies Which activities and/or sports have Which activities have you participated in and detentions.” you participated in at Thornwood? outside of school? Which activities and/or sports have Soccer “I have a job at Burger King, and I have vol- you participated in at Thornwood? unteered in Harvey at a food pantry. I still Student Council currently volunteer at my church in Mat- National Honors Society teson.” Student Excellence Committee Which activities have you participated in outside of school? Which activities have you participated in outside of school? “I am usually invited in some type of community service. I usually am clean- “I have participated in CHIL, which is ing up the community, doing a food Chicago Initiative for Leadership, and drive for the ones in need, or collecting Resurge, which is Teen Christian Em- money for organizations. I was also in- powerment.” volved in Student Government night.” 6 Features JASMINE AT THE MOVIES

JESSE OWENS BATTLES RACISM AND WINS OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL

By Jasmine Wright The movie really captures Owens’ life and boring, the storyline was really interesting. The how hard he worked and how determined he was portrayed role that was set out wanted view- to make it to the Olympics. His strive to become ers to think Owens was a squeaky clean guy a track phenomenon was strong, and he wasn’t and his only ambitious in the world was to race. The life of a young African-Ameri- going to let anything stop him from becom- The Jesse Owens story is ex- can male was hard back in the early 1900s, ing that, not even racist coaches or teammates. traordinary. It deserved a film for sure. with having to battle with racism and deseg- Under the guidance of his Ohio Owens story is very motivating not regation. That did not stop young Jesse Owens State University coach, Owens was smash- only to African Americans but to people who who was determined to make it to the Olym- ing track and field records back to back. are always doubted or are told to give up. Ow- pics no matter who told him he could not. The racial discrimination was not ens opened the gateway for new possibilities The movie Race follows the life of Af- only here in the U.S., but it was also in Ger- for African Americans in playing a profession- rican-American four time track Olympic gold many where the games were being held. al sport. His determination and strive is why medalist Jesse Owens. This young man bat- Stephan James played the young am- he is highly praised today; no matter what the tled his way through segregation in profes- bitious Jesse Owens. He portrayed the role obstacle was he always seemed to overcome it. sional leagues that didn’t allow blacks to race. of Owens well. James playing this role was a Everyone should be like Jes- Owens set world records and accom- big deal. He had to place his mindset back in se Owens and always stand up for what plished many things people doubted him the 1930s where discrimination was a big deal. you love and never let someone tell you are most about. Jesse Owens was announced in There was a ton of passion given by each not good enough to chase your dreams. the U.S. Track Hall of Fame because of his cast member, but his story didn’t even need all of Until next time, Thunderbirds, al- great accomplishments. He also has memori- the glitz the Hollywood production put into it. ways remember to fight for what you be- als across the country, varying from his college Even though the movie was kind of lieve in and be proud of whom you are. days to his four gold medals in the Olympics. News 7 Should Apple assist FBI with terrorist’s iPhone?

By Jamie Williams “I do believe they should cre- they should not be hacked,” Reedy said. ate this software because this would Speech pathologist Glo- help crimes and terrorism,” Nolan said. ria Hoekstra had a different opinion. In December of 2015, a terrorist named Although some students agree that Ap- “I believe we are living in a time of great Syed Farook and his wife killed 14 people in San ple should create the software, others disagree, importance related to the balancing of personal Bernardino, California. He was eventually killed like earth science teacher Mark Danielson. privacy and security. Although I value my pri- along with his wife in a shootout with police. The “Once this is allowed to be done by the vacy and know many others do as well, I recog- FBI secured his iPhone and asked Apple to un- government, it opens the door for them to do nize that I may have (and already have) to give lock the phone, so they could have valuable in- it in the future. It could be abused if put into up some of that privacy, so I can be protected formation about possible terrorist activities. Ap- the wrong hands and could make all phones from people who want to do harm,” Hoeks- ple refused to open the iPhone because it meant vulnerable to virus attacks,” Danielson said. tra said. “I do not believe terrorists should re- writing an entirely new line of code for the phone. S enior Joshua Witherspoon also disagrees. ceive the same protection as law abiding citi- Thornwood students and staff weighed “No. Because that’s their privacy. Why do zens when it comes to their cell phone privacy.” their opinions on the matter. Some students agree they need to crack the phone? They can ask them The case of whether or not Apple with the FBI, like Thornwood senior Jasmine Willis. can they go through the phone,” Witherspoon said. should comply with the FBI is far more com- “Apple should create software be- Another student op- plex than a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’. We must look cause it will save lots of lives, and it posed is senior Janaye Reedy. to see how this decision will affect similar cas- makes it easier to catch the terrorists be- “It’s an invasion of privacy. They es in the future. Regardless of their decision, fore they harm anyone else,” Willis said. should respect other people in their phone. the case has raised many questions and will Sophomore Jackia Nolan also agrees. After they buy the phone, it’s theirs, and surely be a question of debate in the future.

Student school Thornton Township High School board elections District 205 are Friday; vote for Family Reading Night and Thornwood Poetry Slam candidates By Luqman Muhammad it is like to be active in the community. Candi- dates are required to have a 2.0 minimum GPA. Three candidates from each school in District 205 build cap- April 21, 2016 tains and receive votes from their peers. The District 205 Student Board of Edu- One school year is equivalent to one term. cation elections take place Friday, April 15th. Students can run for every 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thornwood candidates are Comfort year they are a student in District 205. Abuwa, Deja Barnes, Abraham Cruz, Simbi- There are 15 students on the cur- at Eji-lasisi, Jada Holcomb, and Nayeli Munoz. rent student board. Four of those stu- Thornridge High School Information about Thornwood can- dents are from Thornwood High School. didates are on pages 4 and 5 of The Arrow. Dawn Russell/ President, Mohammad The District 205 Student Board of Ed- Vhora/Vice President, Christina Gutierrez/ ucation, which was formed in 2006-07, is Secretary, Audrey Mayes/Treasurer, Nyjah Ad- composed of three different schools from ams/Member, Quentin Dailey/Member, Eli- various communities. sa Nichols/Member, Shelbey O’Lidge/Mem- The purpose of the Student Board ber, Andy Sandoval/Member, Ira Wright/ of Education is to give students real-world Member, Comfort Abuwa/Student represen- exposure to board level policy making. tative at large, Rachel Caldwell/Student repre- Students from each school are elect- sentative at large, NahShon Johnson/Student TW-TR-TT Poetry Slam ed at large by their peers under the same Representative-At-Large, Luqman Muhammad/ laws, policies, and procedures as members Student Representative-At-Large, Makiyah Puppet Show on the adult District 205 Board of Education. Muhammad/Student Representative-At-Large Reader’s Theatre The District 205 Student Board rep- At student board meetings, mem- resents well over 5,000 students district wide. bers discuss unfinished business and Book Swap The student board is set up similar to the committee reports from chair people. Guest Poet board of education. There is a president, vice pres- Meetings are held at all three ident, secretary, treasurer, and committee chairs. schools and at the district office. Dinner The students on the board can settle any Over the years, student board has been issues that arise in any of the three schools. responsible for the ThunderFalCat Awards, the Students who join will gain experience naming of T.J Shirley track at Thornwood, the col- in a civil government setting and will know what lege and career portfolio, and the I.B. programs. 8 SPORTS Lady T-birds softball to take flight Senior Samantha Kolosh looks to im- prove on her throwing. “I’ve been working on my throwing since I strained my rotator cuff,” Kolosh said. Every team has a game they look for- ward to playing every year. “Our games against Thornridge and Thornton because they are district and Confer- ence rivals,” Coach Anderson said. Madison Schweitzer looks forward to playing Andrew High School. “They are a good team, and we have a chance this year to beat them,” Schweitzer said. “It will be a good game.” Kearstin Schweitzer looks forward to Lady T-birds listen to their coach give a speech at an afternoon practice. playing Eisenhower High School. By Jorge Correa work ethic and putting the team first.” “We are on the same level, so it’s always The players also have plans to step-up The Thornwood softball team is lock and an intense game,” Schweitzer said. their game. loaded and ready to play on the field. Kolosh looks forward to facing Thorn- Senior Madison Schweitzer looks to The Thunderbirds have set expectations ridge and Thornton. improve on her game by practicing. for themselves this season. ‘When we face each other, we play very “In practice, take more ground balls,” “Our goal is to play better softball,” serious against each other,” Kolosh said. “We Schweitzer said. “Really work on my fielding, so Coach Mark Anderson said. “By doing this, we want to win against them more than any team.” I can be a player to count on to make the play can have a great season. Our goal is to have a Varsity players are Reanna Wells, Mad- for my team.” better record than last year.” ison Schweitzer, Syaria McKinley, Tiara Rober- Senior Kearstin Schweitzer looks to im- Coach Anderson said the team will do a son, Shavonne Mitchell, Kayla Broady, Kearstin prove on her game in several ways. few things to have a better season this year. Schweitzer, Samantha Kolosh, Nicolette Sales, ‘Focusing in practice and listening to the “By improving, and the little things ev- Melanie Shadley, Tierra Hines, Ron-Cherie coaches also perfecting my technique,” Sch- ery day,” Coach Anderson said. “Having a great EagleTail, Ashley Herring, Brooklyn Wilson, weitzer said. Taylor Holleman, and Haley Doty. Thunderbird to improve players’ skills

TW baseball players participate in practice drills in order to help them improve their baseball skills. By Jeshua Glover The team is also looking for- A few players know how they The Thornwood baseball team is set ward to a few key matchups this season. are going to prove themselves this year. to take the field for the first time this year. “Thornridge and Thornton are always Moore said he is going to prove himself “Our goal as a program is to simply im- our most anticipated games,” Beckwith said this year he said he will “Continue to work on prove every athlete’s skills and to compete to the “Other teams we look forward to playing who things that I need to improve on before practice, best of our ability,” Coach Jim Beckwith said. are long-time rivals are Andrew and Bloom.” after practice, and even games as well,” Moore said. Beckwith said the Thunderbirds will have A few of the players are excit- David Scott also wants to improve his game a better season this year and continue to improve ed about a few of the matchups this year this year and wants to achieve some things for him. on a strong foundation built by last year’s team. Dashon Moore and David Scott said. “I’m going to play the hardest I can every “Last year was one of our best seasons “I look forward to facing Lincoln Way-West game and try to get 20 steals this season,” Scott said in more than ten years. Seven starters from last and Lincoln Way-North because they win Con- A few players being considered for the year have graduated, so we have a lot of work ference just about every year and its great compe- starting lineup: “Dashon Moore, David Scott, Da- to do to fill those positions,” Beckwith said. tition for us which helps us get better,” Moore said vion Pettigrew, Marcus Hill, Chrisjuan Wright, “Whether or not we will have a better win- “I look forward to facing Thornridge be- Jeff McGee, and Khanden Howse.” Beckwith said. loss record… ask me at the end of the season.” cause I used to play for them.” David Scott said.